Juliana
by Raine9
Summary: A young girl in distress fights for her right to be happy and to be heard. (note: occasional vulgar language and slight violence)
1. Just Another School Day

Juliana sat, hands folded neatly on her plaid skirt, sun radiating on her soft red cheeks. She had her long, black winter coat on, and was beginning to feel warm and faint. Slowly, her fingers crawled and pressed the button on the car door beside her. Hoping her father wouldn't notice, she cracked the window open for some fresh air.  
  
"What are you doing, Jules?" he cried. "Close the window! You'll catch pneumonia."  
  
She huffed and shut the window.  
  
"That was stupid of you," she thought to herself, "trying to sneak around like he wouldn't notice. You're so stupid."  
  
Juliana's father was driving fast down the long main road. He always drove so fast, as if her were trying to catch something or maybe running away from something. It annoyed her. She didn't think he needed to get anywhere as urgently as he thought he did. She would have told him to slow down, but it would be of no use. He never listened when she talked, so why bother speaking?  
  
"Uh, thank you for driving me, Dad." She spoke meekly. "Sorry I missed the bus again."  
  
"You just need to manage your time, Jules. You'll learn someday."  
  
The car jerked to a stop. Juliana looked up at the hill before her, and knew her dreaded school loomed at the top. She looked to her father, but he was staring past her.  
  
"Okay," he said.  
  
"'Okay' what?"  
  
"'Okay' you can get out of the car now."  
  
"I have to walk up?" Her face was more tired and reluctant than surprised. She sat still in her seat. Her father reached behind the seat and grabbed her backpack, bringing it forth and placing it in her lap.  
  
"Have a nice day, sweetheart!" he said, as if he hadn't heard her question. He smiled. "I love you!"  
  
Juliana looked at him and nodded slightly. She smiled a forced smile, and pulled the handle on the car door.  
  
"If only he knew," she said in her mind. "If only he could fathom the horrid pain this school brings to me. The psychological torture; the loneliness I face every day. If he understood, then maybe he'd let me leave."  
  
She slammed the door shut and turned around swiftly, just in time to see her father wave. He tooted the horn, and sped away. Juliana swung her backpack over her right shoulder.  
  
She walked up the asphalt hill to her school. The only sound to be heard was the clicking of her heels as they met with the hard ground. She stared down as she walked, silently cursing her wretched school the entire time.  
  
She creaked open the door, and stepped into the main hall. The office was empty, as usual. The teachers were upstairs in the lounge, she knew, sipping their steaming black coffee, while maliciously plotting against the students. She turned down another hallway, towards the wall where her locker hung.  
  
She could see, from several feet away, that hers was the locker with the graffiti on it. FREAK was written with a permanent marker, across the face of her locker door. BITCH was written beneath that. She hadn't done it, of course. It showed up a few days after the school board assigned locker numbers. It was one of those things that the vice principal swore he'd eliminate "as soon as possible". Whenever she brought it to his attention, however, the janitor was mysteriously missing or suddenly very ill.  
  
She spun her lock around three times, and it clicked open. When she opened her locker, hundreds of shreds of paper fell to the ground.  
  
"Someone has too much time on their hands," she thought. She swept the rest of the bits and pieces out of her locker, and kicked them to the side as they fell to the floor.  
  
She gathered her books in her arms, and stuffed her book bag into the locker. She slammed it shut, and briskly walked away before anyone could accuse her of leaving the paper pile in the hallway. On the way to her morning classroom, she chucked her brown-bagged lunch into a nearby trash can. She paused a moment to listen to the thud it made, and continued on her way.  
  
Her day continued on as most days do. She was late for home room, because she missed the bus. First period she had science class, in which she did her social studies homework. Science was boring, and everybody knew it. Their teacher was monotone, and no one ever listened to her speak. Juliana sat in the front of the classroom, but the teacher never bothered to look around. She never saw what the students did. Second period was social studies class, in which she did her French homework. Social studies class was one of the noisiest classes she had. The teacher screamed, and the students screamed. Juliana sat in the back of the classroom, and tried to block out the noise around her. Third Period was French class, in which she did her algebra homework. French was the easiest class that anyone could take. The teacher never gave tests, and when she did, she rarely marked them. French grades were based mostly on class participation and behavior. The best thing about French class was the teacher. If you asked her a question, she could go on explaining it all period. All you had to do was not talk when she was speaking, and occasionally nod your head, and you could pass with an A or a B.  
  
The worst period of the day was lunch. Lunch was only fun for the kids who had friends. Juliana didn't have any of those, so she sat in the bathroom with her knees pulled up to her chin, and tried to escape the world. She sat in the stall and looked at the writing on the walls. Vulgar notes about certain girls, phone numbers, and peoples names were scribbled all over the walls. Then she saw a familiar note:  
  
Your eyes do not see me, And I fail to understand, Why the world has to be.  
It was her poem, and it was still unfinished. She still couldn't think of a good rhyme. The more she stared at this poem, the more annoyed she became. It was as if the poem, with a life of its own, didn't ever want to be finished.  
  
Then a thought drifted into her mind. Haunting memories caused her head to pound and her eyes to tear. It still hurt, and her scars from it were still very new. She tried to push the thought away.  
  
"Understand." she whispered. "Stand, hand, band, strand, brand, grand." Her mind was done with rhymes, and flung the memory back at her. It was the day she became "invisible". 


	2. The Beginning of Invisibility

It had been a Monday. an ordinary Monday like any other. Juliana woke up, and walked to the bus stop. Hers was the first stop, so the bus was empty when she boarded. She chose a row in the middle, and scooted over to the window, leaving the aisle seat open for anyone who chose to sit there. Her friend Kylie usually took the empty seat, but on this day, Kylie sat down with Taylor, a boy from their Literature class.  
  
"Oh well," Juliana had thought. "It doesn't matter. I'll see Kylie at lunch."  
  
When they reached the school, Juliana was the only person on the bus sitting alone.  
  
In school, she started noticing things that she hadn't noticed before. She was walking through the hallway, books in her arms, looking at the people she saw. Everyone else in the hall was carrying on as usual; talking, laughing, pushing and shoving. But no one looked at her. No one tried to walk around her. Taylor walked past her and even though his eyes were aimed in her direction, it seemed as though he was looking through her.  
  
"Odd," she said to herself, but thought nothing else of it.  
  
Next Juliana ran into Laura, literally. She was walking down the hallway to the cafeteria, when she saw Laura. Laura didn't see her, apparently, and pushed into her, knocking Juliana to the floor. She stood up, and picked up her notebooks. Laura didn't even turn around to look at her, and just kept on walking.  
  
"Its okay!" she called out after her.  
  
"Well," she thought. "Laura is a very busy person. Maybe she was in a rush and didn't see me."  
  
Juliana continued walking, and found the cafeteria door. She pushed it open, ventured inside, and found the table that she normally sat at. Kylie was there, along with some other girls Juliana had never met. And there, in her seat, Taylor sat and laughed and talked with her friends.  
  
"Kylie!" Juliana said in desperation. "Kylie, what is Taylor doing in my seat?"  
  
Kylie didn't answer.  
  
"Why the hell is he here?" Juliana said, a little louder this time. "Where is my seat?!?" She became hysterical. "KYLIE!! Shit, talk to me, Kylie!! What did I do?? KYLIE!! WHERE THE FUCK IS MY SEAT?!?" Juliana kicked an empty chair nearby, and it collapsed.  
  
Kylie took no notice to her screaming friend or the loud banging of the metal chair hitting the floor. She listened to Taylor, who was calmly telling a joke, and she laughed when he finished. Juliana stood in exasperation and defeat. Finally giving up, she ran out of the lunch room. She burst through the doors and they swung after her, moderately disturbed. Nobody saw her leave.  
  
That was two months ago. Juliana gently rubbed her fingers over the words on the wall of the bathroom stall. Two months ago, she had ran from the cafeteria and found this bathroom stall. Two months ago, she wrote this poem, and it was still unfinished. Now Juliana sat crouched in the same stall, as lonely as she ever was.  
  
Suddenly, she became angry. She shoved the door of the stall and the lock broke apart. She threw her backpack into the mirror on the wall and it cracked into shards of glass. She kicked the garbage can and it thudded to the ground, spewing its contents out onto the pink tile floor.  
  
She backed up into the corner of the bathroom, and slid down to the floor, crying. She surveyed the garbage on the floor and the squeaking door, still rocking on its old hinges. She stood up, and looked in the broken mirror. Her face was distorted and red. She turned the faucet, bent over, and rubbed ice cold water over her eyes.  
  
The bell rang. She stood up and picked up her book bag. With a deep breath, she leaned into the door and stepped out into the hall. It was empty. Slowly, she walked to her algebra class, late again. 


	3. Living at Home

Later that night, she sat at home. Her father and little brother were standing in the kitchen, eating pizza. Her mother was working a late shift at the hospital. Juliana sat at the table and nibbled on a piece of toast. She didn't like pizza, because it was too greasy. She never really ate dinner with her family, either because she didn't like the food or she just wasn't hungry. She closely observed the toast, and then dropped it on the paper plate.  
  
"Dad," she said quietly. He was still looking at the TV, intent on solving the Wheel of Fortune puzzle.  
  
"Ask for a P, god damnit!" he shouted at the screen.  
  
"Dad," said Juliana, a little louder this time. "Dad I want to talk to you!"  
  
"Oh okay, Jules," he replied, not breaking his eye contact with the television.  
  
She sighed. "Dad, I want you to take me out of my school."  
  
That got his attention. "What? Come on, Jules. We've talked about this before. This school is great for you. It will get you into a good college. You'll have a well-paying job, and you won't have to work over time like your mother does."  
  
"I don't fucking care!" she yelled. "I can get into college by myself! I can get a job! I have my own life! I don't need this shitty school to help me! I hate it there, and I'm not going back!"  
  
"You are to going back! You are going back there tomorrow, and every day after until you graduate."  
  
"NO!" Juliana screamed. She picked up her toast and threw it at her father. She pushed herself from her chair, and ran to her room. 


	4. The Start of the End

The next day, Juliana's father drove her to school.  
  
"I'm walking you in, too." He said. "You're going to stay in this school, whether you like it or not."  
  
She sat silently, and he parked the car before the doors to her school. He got out, and opened her door.  
  
"Out," He commanded her, and she obeyed. "Do you have to sign in or anything?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Well I'm going to make sure your principal knows you are here." He walked her through the doors, and immediately the vice principal was standing before them.  
  
"Are you this girl's father?" He asked.  
  
Juliana's father nodded. "Yes, I am. Why? Is there a problem?"  
  
The vice principal motioned for them to step into his office. He walked around and sat behind a mahogany desk. Juliana sat down in a chair across from him, and her father sat down beside her. She looked down at the dark grey carpet clueless to why she was here.  
  
"Mr.." The vice principal lingered on the word. He searched through files in his desk drawer, searching for her file.  
  
"Grey." Juliana's father filled in. "Andy Grey. Juliana is my daughter."  
  
"I'm Mr. Irving, Juliana's vice principal." He smiled at her, and she stared him down.  
  
"You still haven't answered my question," her father said again, this time more determined. "Is there a problem?"  
  
Mr. Irving again went through his desk drawer. This time he found the file more easily. He pulled it out and opened it on his desk. He pulled out a piece of paper. It was an Algebra test with the name Juliana Grey printed across the top, and the score, 100, written in the upper right hand corner.  
  
"She got a perfect score on an algebra test," said her father. "Is that why you wanted me to come in?"  
  
"Hardly," Mr. Irving replied. He then turned to Juliana. "Is this your handwriting?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And this is your test?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Were you in school yesterday?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Did you go into the bathroom at all yesterday afternoon?"  
  
Before she could answer that question, her father jumped up.  
  
"All right, you perverted asswipe. This twisted little inquiry of yours is going to stop right now! I have no idea what the hell you are intending to do here, and before you go on, I WILL find out!"  
  
Mr. Irving stood and looked Mr. Grey in the eyes.  
  
"Your daughter's test paper was found in the girls' bathroom by our school janitor yesterday afternoon. That bathroom was vandalized. The mirror and door were broken, the walls written on, and the garbage knocked over. I am curious to the part that your daughter played in this."  
  
Her father stood, his mouth open wide. The two men stayed, looking at each other with anger. Finally, Juliana spoke.  
  
"I did it." She said. "I did all of it."  
  
They both looked down at her.  
  
"Why?" her father mouthed silently. He slumped into the chair.  
  
Mr. Irving sat back at his desk, and smiled with sick joy. "Vandalism is a serious crime, punishable by law. We are willing to keep this our little secret, away from the ears of the police, if you will have to pay for all of the damages." He looked at Juliana. "Oh, and she will be suspended for a week."  
  
Andy's eyes boiled with anger. "You can expel her, for all I care. I'm transferring her out of this school. She's too good for this place, anyway." He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and threw a 100$ bill on the desk. "That should more than cover the damage expenses. Use the change to buy yourself a personality." He walked out the office, victoriously, and Juliana followed.  
  
Her father was about to walk out of the school building, when Juliana called him back.  
  
"Dad," she said. "Wait." He turned around and looked at her, puzzled.  
  
"I need to go to my locker," she explained. "So I can get my things."  
  
He nodded and walked with her. When he saw FREAK, he almost lost his mind.  
  
"This is your locker?" he asked. "Who did this? I'll kill them! I will find them, and I will kill them!"  
  
"Calm down," she said. "It's okay. I asked Mr. Irving to get it cleaned off, and he's working on it."  
  
Her father looked at the locker door, and smiled slyly.  
  
"Jules," he said. "Give me a pen."  
  
She reached into her back pack and retrieved a pen. He took it and started writing on the locker door. He finished and pulled back to admire his work. Juliana read it.  
  
Mr. Irving, you filthy bastard, thank you so very much for all you've done. Lovingly, the Grays  
  
They shared their moment of revenge and victory in silence. Juliana put her books into her locker for the last time, and slammed it shut. The noise it made in the empty hallway rang in her ears. The two of them, father and daughter, walked out of the school building together, heads held high. 


End file.
